Monday, March 17, 2014

How I meal plan...



There are many, many ways to meal plan for your family and it is crucial for a successful food budget to have one! I personally realized that by taking about an hour each month and another each week (and I'm getting quicker!) I was able to cut my grocery budget in half... by just being prepared! I also found that those hours leading up to dinner time were much less stressful because I already knew what I was going to be cooking. I was no longer waiting until the last minute to throw something together or going the easier route and picking up or ordering in which is both bad for your diet and your wallet.



The first step (after I prepare a cup of coffee, love the mug?) that I take when I begin menu planning is to map out dinners by month. Looking at a full month allows me to spread out similar meals so that we don't feel like we are eating the same thing all the time. I'll start by taking family favorites such as spaghetti or pizza and I will randomly place them a few times across the month. On Friday that week maybe Sunday a couple weeks later... and so on. Then I'll try to think of a pattern... maybe a chicken dish every 8 days? Meatless every 4 days? It depends on my mood at the time that I'm crafting this monthly plan. One thing is certain... USE PENCIL! I make a lot of changes and I'll explain!



I menu plan by month but I grocery shop weekly because I am a sale hound. I prefer to purchase items when they are on sale so just because I say we will have chicken doesn't mean I won't switch it to pork loin when the pork is on sale that week and the chicken is not! Hence... always write in pencil. Some might say: Why plan by the month at all? Why not just plan every week with sale ads?  My answer is simple... in my personal experience, I find that if I have a guideline for the month that makes the weekly grocery lists move a lot faster. The majority of the meals that I make consist of items that are frequently on sale, regularly inexpensive or I already have on hand in my pantry. The only items that I have to really switch around for sales are main meat dishes.

Once I have looked over the weekly sale ads on Wednesdays and matched any coupons, I make my final weekly menu and compile my shopping list. Since I do not have a set day for grocery shopping (and always try to avoid doing it over a weekend), I start the weekly dinner menu on Monday and end on Sunday... this allows me between Thursday and Monday morning to get to the grocery store which personally works well for me.

Monday mornings I put the menu up on the board and call it good!

How do you plan your family's dinner menu?



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